Heart of Gold
by Misha Oka
Summary: My take on the relationship between Lyra and Silver :D I've always been a fan of this pairing... WARNING: extreme fluffiness ahead!  SoulSilverShipping
1. First Meeting

**Misha: Hey there! For those of you that don't know me, I'm a huge Pokemon nerd and I spend a lot of time dreaming up fanfictions rather then doing anything productive...but that's not the point! I've been thinking about this fic for a while... and I really like it! :D But let me warn you... it's going to be extremely fluffy. Just...loaded with fluff. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Misha doesn't own Pokemon. *sob***

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The doors of the Elm Pokemon Laboratory burst open and a girl darted out, beaming, clutching a tiny pokemon in her arms. Once outside, she set it down, then sat on the grass next to it.

"So Cyndaquil," she said, addressing the pokemon next to her, "We're buddies now, huh? This is great! We're gonna have so much fun!" The Cyndaquil glanced at the girl, who was smiling hugely, and couldn't help grinning a little itself.

"Wahhhh!" the girl squealed, "You're just so cute! And you're min...I'm gonna hafta name you! Umm... you're a girl, right? So...umm..." she thought for a minute. "Maya! It's cute, isn't it?" she asked, grinning. "And I'm Lyra!" She stood up again, stretching. "Well, c'mon Maya! We've got that errand to run for the professor, remember?" she called, and started walking off with her new pokemon happily following.

Lyra kept walking cheerfully, her brown pigtails bouncing on her shoulders, until she reached the other side of the lab. A boy with red hair was standing there, staring through a window and muttering to himself. Lyra frowned, confused, and walked over to him.

"Umm... what are you doing?"

The boy jumped, startled. He glanced at Lyra, then scowled. "What are you staring at? Get out of here, Mushroom-head." He gave Lyra a hard shove, knocking her back, and turned back to the window.

Lyra blinked, her shoulder throbbing slightly. "Umm...excuse me? What was that for?" she exclaimed, trying to hold back her anger. The boy ignored her, crossing his arms. "You know," she continued, "It's rude to hit a girl! And why did you call me a mushroom-head?"

The boy glanced at her, then shrugged. "You don't look like a girl. What kind of girl wears overalls?" he drawled, smirking. "And that annoying hat of yours looks like a giant mushroom," he explained. "Now, be a good girl and get out of here."

Lyra opened her mouth to retort, but could think of nothing to say. So she turned on her heel and stormed off, Maya struggling to keep up with her. "I hope I never see that jerk again," she muttered, still pissed.

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"...so please, get back here as soon as you can!"

-CLICK-

Lyra put her Pokegear back in her bag and began running back to the lab. An unexpected call from Elm had told her to get back, apparently there had been some sort of disaster, but the professor hadn't been specific. She had just reached the exit of Cherrygrove City, however, when she saw a familiar-looking red haired boy standing in her way, smirking.

Lyra walked over to him and crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

The boy sneered back. "Oh, I see you got a pokemon from the lab Mushroom-head. What a waste... that pokemon is too good for a wimp like you..." he bent down, looking at Lyra's pokemon. "Then again, this one looks rather pathetic, so I guess you're a perfect match!" Lyra scowled, and Maya let out a growl. The boy just laughed. "Well, I've just gotten a better pokemon... let me show you!" He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it in the air. "Go Totodile!"

Lyra sweatdropped. She had never fought another trainer before, and was kind of intimidated by this boy. However, she looked down at Maya, who looked ready to fight, and took a deep breath. "Go, Maya!"

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The battle finally ended, and Lyra stood, amazed. Even though both pokemon were new to battling, Maya had shown incredible power that Lyra never thought was possible. Maya, though wounded, had defeated that arrogant kid and his Totodile, and Lyra scooped her up, smiling.

"You did it! Wow!" She hopped up and down a few times, barely able to contain her excitement. "You actually beat him!"

"Whatever," a voice mumbled, and Lyra looked up. "You won. Whatever." the boy continued, staring at his feet. "It...it doesn't matter!" he yelled suddenly, making Lyra jump. "I'm going to be the world's best Pokemon trainer! It was just... beginner's luck!" He stormed away, taking his fainted pokemon with him. Lyra watched him walk away, then noticed something lying in the road where he had been standing. She walked over and picked it up, it was a trainer card.

"Silver," she muttered, reading the name at the top. "Hey, wait!" she called, but she couldn't see the boy anywhere. "Silver, huh?" she looked at Maya, "I wonder if we'll ever see him again..."

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**So that's that! For now, anyways! :D I know that this chapter is kinda boring, but I had to get the intro out of the way... now I can focus on the fun stuff! Yay! So, I hope that you stick around for the rest... and please review with any comments or tips that you might have! Thank you for reading! **


	2. At Sprout Tower

**Misha: I just wanna start off by thanking everyone who gave me a review: Pyis and BeautifulPichu. Thank you so much! I've been inspired, so I'm gonna try to update as frequently as possible! **

**Disclaimer: Misha... doesn't own Pokemon... unfortunately.**

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Lyra reached the top of the steps, panting slightly. She has spent the last few hours battling her way up Sprout Tower, and was glad to have finally reached the top. However, as she looked around she realized that she could see no one else in the room; she was alone. Frustrated, she began to turn and go back down when she heard voices. She walked around, finally spotting the speaker behind a pillar.

"Your skills are indeed good young man, but I worry about your pokemon," an elderly man was saying. "You work them far too hard. You should care for them more... remember that pokemon are not simply tools of war..."

"Whatever, old man," another voice replied, and Lyra realized that Silver was also there, his back to her. "I don't need someone like you telling me how to train my pokemon." He turned and saw Lyra watching them. He scowled. "What are you doing here Mushroom-head? Looking for a battle? Well, he's all yours." Silver walked past her and started heading down the stairs.

"Oh, umm... wait up!" Lyra called, hurrying after him. He didn't stop, but Lyra kept following him down the stairs. "Silver!" she yelled, and he stopped suddenly, making her crash into him.

Silver glared at her. "What did you call me?" he asked.

Lyra blushed. "Umm... I... I found you Trainer Card and... I read the name at the top..." she trailed off, holding the card out to him. Silver snatched it from her, looking extremely pissed off. Lyra shut her eyes and cringed, preparing herself for the worst.

Silver sighed. "Well, it can't be helped," he said, shrugging, and continued down the steps. Lyra opened her eyes again, surprised. She stood still for a minute, confused, then realized that Silver had already disappeared.

"Wait!" she called again, running down the stairs. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to stay, to talk to her. She finally reached the bottom step... and tripped, falling flat on her face. "Ow..." she moaned quietly, her eyes watering.

"Honestly, Mushroom-head, you should watch where you're going." Lyra looked up and saw Silver looking down at her, a tiny smile on his face. She blushed.

"It...it's not funny!" she said, embarrassed. She tried getting up, but fell over again. Silver chuckled, but then surprised her; he held his hand out to her and helped her to her feet. Lyra blushed deeper. "Umm... thank you," she mumbled.

Silver looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Try not falling over next time, ok?" he said, then began walking away. Lyra followed. After a while he turned around to face her, looking annoyed.

"Did I ever say that you could follow me around? Get lost."

Lyra was shocked. "But... you... I thought..." she trailed off, stung.

"I don't want a wimp like you holding me back," Silver said, walking away again. "You're of no use, so go away."

Lyra could feel her eyes tearing up again, and wiped them hastily on her sleeve. "What a jerk!" she said to herself, angry at letting Silver getting to her like that. "You hear that!" she yelled suddenly at Silver's retreating form, "You're a STUPID JERK!"

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**Yeah, yeah... not a lot going on right now I know... and this chapter was really short too... I'm still working on getting Silver to stop being such a jerk, though he did have one little moment there (yay!). As soon as I get over this rut though, I've got some adorable and silly things planned, so please stick around! Oh... and please review, of course! :D Thanks!**


	3. Azalea Town pt 1

**Misha: I'm back! I was on vacation for a week... for anyone who cares that is. ^.^; Anyways, I really like this chapter, and-**

**Ben: Hey Misha.**

**Misha: Wha-**

**Summer: We're here to do some shameless advertising for your other fic, Pokemon Ranger Guardian Signs, which, by the way, you seem to have totally forgotten about.**

**Misha: *sweatdrops* Well yeah but I... was totally planning on updating that soon! Now get out of here before I sic Silver on you!**

**Silver: Excuse me? I'm not going to be dragged into such petty things. Also, Misha doesn't own pokemon... as if anyone cared anyways.**

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"Thank you so much Kurt!" Lyra said, taking her new pokeballs and exiting the house. She was happy, she had gotten her second gym badge earlier that day, and she was finally on her way to Ilex forest and Goldenrod City beyond. She hurried forward, Maya following closely behind. The two had become very close over the past few weeks, even as Lyra's collection of pokemon grew. Lyra reached the boundary of Azalea Town, and was about to enter the forest when she heard someone yelling behind her.

"Hey, Mushroom-head!"

Lyra turned and frowned slightly as she saw Silver walking towards her. "You know, I have a name," she said, annoyed. "It's Lyra and-"

"Whatever," Silver interrupted, reaching her and crossing his arms. "Tell me something, shroom. Is it true that Team Roket has returned?"

Lyra blinked, taken aback. She hadn't been expecting anything like that. "Umm... well... I think so," she mumbled. "That is, I beat their leader, umm... Protein? Was that it? Yeah..."

"Hold on a second ," Silver said. "You say you beat them?" He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right Mushroom-head. Someone like you?"

Lyra was furious. She had never met someone who infuriated her so much! "For your information, Silver, I've beaten you before too! And my name is not Mushroom-head!" she yelled, "It's Lyra!"

Silver blinked, totally surprised. He hadn't expected the chick to actually yell at him after all. He didn't think she had it in her. He smirked. "Yeah? Alright then, show me what you've got, Lyra. But don't count on winning again this time."

Lyra grabbed her pokeballs, excited to battle this time and wanting to prove herself to Silver. "Alright," she said, "Kiri! I choose you!" Her Pidgey burst from the pokeball, landing on the ground in front of her. Silver smiled.

"Zubat! Show them what you've got!"

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Silver looked down at his feet. His pokemon had lost to that stupid girl in the mushroom hat, again. He scowled. "Hmph! You useless pokemon!" he yelled at his team, who were sprawled around him, unable to battle. "Listen you!" he said, addressing Lyra. "You only won because my pokemon were weak. I'm the better trainer by far!"

Lyra was pleased that she had won again, but also worried about Silver's pokemon. They looked in really bad shape, and he clearly didn't care enough about them to notice. "Umm... Silver?" she said, reaching into her bag. "Here." She held out several potions to him.

Silver stared at the medicine in her hand, then looked up at her. "Why are you giving me this?" he asked, surprised.

"Because your pokemon need it!" Lyra exclaimed. "Can't you tell that they're in bad shape!" She bent down near Silver's Totodile and began giving it the medicine. "I don't care if you don't care about your pokemon, but I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Silver bent down next to Lyra, and began to withdraw his pokemon. Lyra looked up at him in surprise. "Listen, uh... thanks," he mumbled, "But you don't have enough potion there. I'm taking them to the Pokemon Center, okay?"

Lyra smiled. "That's great. Umm... do you mind if I tag along? I want to heal my pokemon too"

Silver sighed. "If you must," he said, hiding a small smile.

"Great!" Lyra said happily, smiling hugely. The two took off down the road together, Lyra chattering happily. Silver couldn't help staring at her. Before today he had never really noticed the girl before, after all, she was dressed so strangely. But when Silver looked at her closely he noticed how large and bright her eyes were, and how they were framed by some of the longest lashes he had ever seen...

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"...and so I told him, 'You can't put a Cheri Berry there!'" Lyra exclaimed laughing, and snapped Silver out of his trance. He blinked, then smiled hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah," he said lamely, sweatdropping slightly. Lyra sighed.

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" she asked, frowning. Silver didn't respond, he just kept looking forward until they reached the Pokemon Center together.

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**Misha: So this is kinda like a part 1 I suppose, because I have another scene planned out inside but I don't wanna make the chapter too long and bore everyone, ya know? In conclusion, I just wanna thank everyone that has read this, and of course my wonderful reviewers: **

**RosieShiba, Eclipsewings, zflame393, SasoriSweet19, and BeautifulPichu and Pyis again! Thank you all so much!**


	4. Azalea Town pt 2

**Misha: Hello everyone! Well, you've spoken, and I've answered: I'm making this chapter the longest so far! Woohoo! I realize that I could've just made this part and the part before one chapter... but I didn't think of that at the time. ^.^; Also, I realize that in the last chapter I spelled Team Rocket wrong... my bad! But everyone makes mistakes, right? So please don't be mad! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and please give me some more feedback! Thanks!**

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"I'm sorry, but we're completely swamped right now," the nurse was saying. "So you'll have to wait a while."

Silver groaned and walked back over to Lyra. "It's going to be a while Mushroom-head. Might as well make yourself comfortable."

Lyra sighed. "Could you please not call me that?" she said, crossing her arms. "It's actually... really annoying."

"Oh?" Silver grinned and sat next to her. "How about... shroom? Mush-face? Or... marshmallow?"

"Marshmallow?"

"Yeah," Silver explained, "Because of that ridiculous hat."

Lyra shook her head. "How about... just Lyra?"

"But that's not very interesting," Silver replied, then laughed. "All right Lyra, I'll try to remember."

The two sat in silence for a while, and Lyra felt rather awkward. Here she was with Silver, who had been a real jerk to her before now. She had no idea why he was acting differently now, but she had to admit that liked the change. _And at least, _she thought, _he's stopped calling me Mushroom-head. _She snuck a glance over at him, and noticed that he was looking at her too. She looked away quickly, blushing fiercely.

"Umm... s-so...," she stammered, "Silver, why do you, umm... why do you hate Team Rocket so much?"

Silver's expression turned stony. "They're weak," he said. "I hate the weak... pokemon, trainers, and especially Team Rocket. They act tough in a group, but get them alone and they're just a joke. And now they're back, apparently. Pathetic."

"What have they done to you?" Lyra asked, concerned.

Silver ignored her question. "I hate them all. Listen," he said suddenly, "You got lucky with them once. But don't mess with them again. You're not up to it. So stay out of my way."

"Excuse me?" Lyra said, hurt. "In case you've forgotten, I've beaten you twice, and I even beat their leader, Protein!"

"That's not even his name, you idiot!" Silver exclaimed. "And they wouldn't have stood a chance against me if I had gotten there first!"

Lyra was stung, and felt tears fill her eyes. She looked away hurriedly. "You're such a jerk," she mumbled. "I thought you were different!" She stood up suddenly and ran out of the room; she didn't want him to see her cry.

Silver watched her leave, confused. _Why would she run off?_ he thought. _Man, chicks can be so touchy. _He sighed.

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Excuse me, sir," the nurse called. "Your pokemon are ready. Where's your friend? She can pick up hers as well."

Silver walked over to the counter and took his pokemon back. "She's not my friend," he said, "But I'll take them to her." He grabbed Lyra's pokemon before the nurse could stop him and headed out the door.

Once outside, Silver looked around, searching for Lyra, but she was nowhere to be found. He sighed, and looked at the pokeballs in his hand. On impulse, he pressed the release button on all three, and Lyra's pokemon sprung out. There was her Cyndaquil, Pidgey, and Mareep. They looked up at him, and realized that he was not Lyra.

Maya looked up at the strange human above her, and recognized him as the one that had made Lyra upset at Sprout Tower, and whose pokemon she had helped defeat twice. She growled.

Silver looked down at the pokemon at his feet, and was surprised to see all three glaring fiercely at him. "What's wrong with you?" he said, smirking. "You weak little pokemon, I'd like to see you try anything..."

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Lyra wiped the last of her tears away and began walking back to the Pokemon Center. She was still angry, but she realized that she had run out without her pokemon, and she wanted them back.

"Gyah! G-get off me!"

Lyra ran towards the cry, concerned. She rounded a corner, and saw Silver. There were three pokemon attacking him. A Pidgey was flying around his head, pecking at him, and a Cyndiquil was biting at his ankles while a Mareep shocked him repeatedly . She giggled a little, then burst out laughing.

Silver noticed her. "Lyra!" he yelled. "Your pokemon are psychotic! Call them off!"

Lyra laughed harder. "Silver, you look so stupid! What's the magic word?"

"Please!"

"Alright, alright," Lyra replied. "Maya! Kiri! Moko! Leave him alone, alright?"

The pokemon looked around, and noticed their trainer. They ran from Silver (knocking him over in the process) over to Lyra happily, cuddling up and nuzzling her. Silver picked himself out of the dirt and dusted off his jacket, wincing slightly.

"Your pokemon are nuts!" he shouted at her. "What kind of trainer makes their pokemon just attack random people!"

Lyra just laughed. "Stop being such a wuss," she said. "Did they really hurt you that badly?"

Silver looked away sheepishly. "Well... not that badly... but still! Why did they do that?"

"Maybe because you're a jerk? You've been kind of rotten to me in the past you know, and they're just sticking up for me!"

Silver rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Well, I've wasted too much time here. I'm heading off, okay?"

Lyra nodded. "Where are you headed?"

"Over to Ilex Forest. I've got to get a move on too, it'll be dark soon."

"Really? Because... umm... I'm heading there too and maybe... we could go together?" Lyra asked, hopeful. She wasn't exactly sure why she wanted to be with him as he could be such a jerk to her... but there was something about him when he was actually being a decent human being that she craved.

Silver rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Mushroom-head, just as long as you don't slow me down." He began walking towards the forest.

"Ah, wait up!" Lyra called, hurrying after him. "And don't call me Mushroom-head!"

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**Misha: Well, that's that! Yeah, it's not as long as I had hoped, but it's longer then the last chapter! Hooray! Oh, and that joke from last time? I'll let you figure out what that's about *mischievous grin*. Don't worry, I'll probably explain it later... well... maybe. Anyways, I've got some big things planned for the next chapter, so y'all should look forward to that. Oh, and of course I'm gonna thank my new reviewers:**

**Mijumaruwott (what dya mean by wanting to eat/steal the breaks?)**

**Shadow Giratina**

**Eclipsewings, BeautifulPichu and zflame393 also deserve recognition for being regular reviewers, so thank you! **


	5. Farfetch'd and Spiders

**Misha: Hello again! I'm kind of on a roll right now, I love it! Yay! Anyways, to answer some questions: Lyra and Silver aren't always going to be traveling together. Although it would be fun, I have some other stuff planned, and as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder! But don't dismay, because both character will be in every chapter I write. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me so far, and please review!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, i don't own Pokemon. Big surprise. **

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Silver groaned. "Why did I let you rope me into this again?" He had hoped to have reach Goldenrod City before nightfall, but instead he was chasing down some Farfetch'd that some dimwitted apprentice had lost. And he was stuck with Lyra, of all people.

"Because I asked you to, and you're a good person!" Lyra replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Silver grumbled back. "So where the hell are these damn things supposed to be?"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Well maybe if you stop crashing around, we'll find them! Ah!" She stopped suddenly, grabbing Silver by the arm to stop him from moving. "Shhh! There's one over there," she whispered, pointing.

Silver followed her gaze and finally spotted the small bird pokemon in a clearing not far away. "That's great," he whispered back, "But how are we supposed to catch them?"

Lyra opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything. They couldn't catch the Farfetch'd like they would with wild pokemon, because these already had a trainer. She glanced over at Silver, hoping he would come up with something. Silver, on the other hand, was coming up blank, and just stared into space. After a few moments, however, he noticed that Lyra was still clutching his arm, and his face flushed. "G-get off me," he said roughly, jerking his arm away. Lyra looked up at him, a look of hurt flashing across her features, but she didn't say anything. Silver turned away, suddenly ashamed of himself.

_Great_, he thought. _Why do I have to start getting a goddamn conscience?_

The two stood in awkward silence for a while, consumed in thought. Finally, Lyra broke the silence.

"Umm..." she mumbled, "How about we both take a different side, and I chase it over to you? I mean," she said, staring at the ground, "Unless you think it's stupid..."

"No! That sounds like a great idea! Let's go!" Silver exclaimed, starting off towards the clearing. After a moment Lyra followed, confused about his sudden cheerfulness.

They quickly got into position, and Silver gave Lyra the thumbs-up. She nodded, then ran into the clearing, shrieking and flapping her arms. At her approach, the Farfetch'd looked up and stopped moving. It blinked. Then it turned around, ignoring her.

Lyra was crestfallen. Her plan had failed, and she was sure that Silver would think she was an idiot. She sighed.

Silver stood up. "Listen Lyra, it's no big deal, we can-"

Silver was cut off as the Farfetch'd noticed him. It took one look at him and ran, squawking loudly, right into Lyra's arms. It buried it's head in the crook of her arm, shaking slightly. Silver stood, rooted to the spot, stunned. Lyra was equally as surprised, and she looked down at the pokemon cowering in her arms.

"Heh...ehehee... aha... hahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

Silver stared at Lyra, who was bent over, laughing uncontrollably. He scowled. "Care to explain the joke?"

Lyra continued laughing, tears coming to her eyes. "I... you, ahaha... it was... and you didn't even DO anything... hahaha!" She trailed off, gasping slightly from laughing so hard, and tried catching her breath, still letting out the occasional giggle.

Silver blushed. "It's not that funny!" he cried, embarrassed.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Lyra said, grinning. "C'mon, we still have one left!"

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Silver stretched. "Thank Arceus that's over," he sighed. He had managed to scare away the other Farfetch'd as well, even though he had no idea why they were so terrified of him.

"Hey," Lyra piped up from beside him, "Umm... why dya think I wasn't able to scare those pokemon?"

"Because you're too cute to scare anyone!" Silver responded immediately, then realized what he had said and blushed deeply. "What I mean is... uh..." he trailed off lamely, and looked away, embarrassed (again).

Lyra blushed as well, extremely surprised. _He's never complimented me like that before_, she thought. _Is he making fun of me? What's going on?_

Silver was eager to change the subject, and started walking quickly through the forest. "C'mon Lyra!" he called. "I wanna make it through the forest before dark!"

"Ah, okay!" Lyra replied. "W-wait for me!"

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Darkness was settling quickly through Ilex forest, and soon the light was extremely dim. However, Lyra had Maya walking in the front, and she provided enough light to allow the group to keep going.

Lyra walked along contentedly. She and Silver had talked for a while, and though now they had both fallen silent, she was in a great mood. Her good feeling vanished quickly, however, as soon as she heard a rustling just ahead of them on the path.

"Wah! S-silver, what's that?" she cried, cringing.

Silver sighed. "There are pokemon in the woods, remember? Its just one of them moving around. Honestly, Lyra, you freak out too much."

Lyra fell silent, embarrassed. _I'm just being silly. It's nothing, I'm sure._

Suddenly, something dropped out of a tree above her head. It was big, and green, and had too many legs...

"WAHHHHHHH!"

Silver jumped about a foot in the air with surprise when Lyra shrieked. "What is it?" he yelled. "What's wrong?"

"It's... it's a... SPIDER!"

Lyra grabbed Silver, pulling herself close to him, and buried her head in his chest. Silver blushed and was about to chastise Lyra for being afraid of a harmless Spinarak when he looked down and saw that she was shaking with fear. He sighed, but patted her on the head and wrapped his arms around her.

"You'll be fine Lyra," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

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It took a few minutes, but Lyra finally calmed down, and then realized the position that she was in. She pushed away from SIlver, blushing furiously.

"I'm... I'm sorry," she said. "It's just that... I've always been afraid of spiders... I hate them..."

Silver gave her a small smile. "Whatever, it's fine. But we really do have to get moving, so..."

"Ah! Of course!" Lyra replied, showing a little too much enthusiasm (she was still extremely embarrassed). She began walking away quickly, her face still red. Silver followed, amused.

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"Yahoo! We finally made it!" Lyra exclaimed as they emerged from the forest. Silver smiled.

"Yeah, it's great. So I'll be seeing you later?"

Lyra looked over at Silver, a little disappointed. "Oh... well I thought that...umm... nevermind..."

Silver glanced at her, confused. "What?"

Lyra blushed. "It's... nothing..." She trailed off, staring at something in the distance.

"Lyra? What's the matter?"

Lyra said nothing, watching a figure in the distance. He was walking towards her, a small, round figure at his side. As he drew closer, she finally recognized him.

"Ethan!"

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**Dundundunnnnn! That's right folks, I've ended with a (kinda) cliffhanger! What kind of problems is Ethan gonna cause? Well, you'll hafta keep reading to find out!**

**On another note, i have some bad news. I'm going out of town this weekend, and I won't be home until the end of July. ^.^; This means there won't be any updates for a while, sorry! But hopefully I'll be able to cook up something good while I'm gone :D**

**And now, to thank my reviewers: **

**MarHeavenAngel**

**Pyis**

**BeautifulPichu**

**RoseShiba**

**Eclipsewings**

**zflame393**

**Mijumaruwott**

**Shadow Giratina**

**Thank you all so much! I appreciate you all! And for those of you who haven't reviewed yep, please do! I would like that so much! Thank you!**


	6. A New Rival?

**Misha: I'M BAAACK!**

**Silver: Oh god...**

**Misha: IT WAS SO AWESOME! I SWAM WITH SHARKS AND LEARNED HOW TO SURF AND DID TESTS ON SPONGES!**

**Lyra: Misha, calm down please...**

**Misha: AND I TURNED SEVENTEEN THURSDAY! IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! HOORAY!**

**Silver: ... Misha, shut up, or I'll-**

**Lyra: Silver, stop being such a jerk. She's just excited is all!**

**Silver: But she's so annoying!**

**Misha: OH HEY EVERYONE! So I just got back... today. This chapter isn't going to be very long, just a lead into the next, because I'm tired and jet-laggy, but I still wanna give you all something. So I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and because it was my birthday, you have to give me a review. It'll be like presents to me! :D**

**Silver: That's great Misha, but aren't you forgetting-**

**Misha: I DON'T OWN POKEMON! (but if you are looking to get me a gift, I wouldn't mind owning it...)**

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"Ethan! Is that you?"

"Lyra?" the figure called, and began running. As he approached, Silver got a better look at him. He looked around 16 years old, with a tuff of jet black hair peeking out from underneath a baseball cap. A Marill skipped happily at his side. Silver scoffed. "_What a wimpy pokemon,_" he thought. "_Who the hell is this kid?"_

The boy finally reached them, panting slightly but grinning from ear to ear. "Hey Lyra! Long time, no see eh?" he said happily, and, to Silver's surprise, pulled Lyra into a tight hug.

"Wow Ethan, it's so great to see you!" Lyra gushed. "It really has been a while! How are you?"

The two continued to hug and chat happily, while Silver stood nearby, annoyed. He didn't exactly know why he was so pissed off that this guy was all over Lyra, but he couldn't help his hands curling into fists just the same. As he sulked, he saw the kid, Ethan, look over Lyra's shoulder and right at Silver. He seemed to be able to read Silver's expression perfectly, because he smirked at him and turned away.

"Anyways Lyra," he said, ending their embrace, "It's getting pretty late. How wouldja like to crash at my grandparent's place tonight?" He glanced at Silver. "It would be fun, just like old times!"

Lyra smiled. "That sounds great!" she said enthusiastically. "It's been so long since I've been over to the Day-Care center!" The two began to walk off together, but Lyra turned back.

"Silver!" she called. "Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"Oh, well you know..." said offhandedly, "I'll figure something out."

"Oh..." Lyra said, then suddenly brightened. "Hey! Why don't you come stay with Ethan and me!" She looked over at Ethan, smiling. "Would that be okay?"

Both boys looked taken aback. "Umm, well... I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue," Ethan said, trailing off. "But, well, there's only one spare room and-"

Lyra cut him off. "That sounds perfect! So Silver, you'll come, right?" Silver didn't know how to react, so he just stood silently. "Oh c'mon! It'll be fun!"

"Whatever," Silver said, trying to sound nonchalant. "If it's just for the night, it's better then nothing. But you'd better not keep me up!"

Lyra beamed at him. "Awesome!" she exclaimed! "This is going to be so fun!"

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**So I warned you, I said it would be short. But the next chapter is going to be awesome, trust me! Now, I've got to get going before this jet lag kills me...**

**Oh yeah! Thanks to my new reviewers!**

**MarHeavenAngel**

**Sapphiet**

**Pablo and Bobboo**

**Thank you so much! And to those of you who haven't left me a review, please do! I appreciate it! Thanks again! :D**


	7. Sleepover

**Misha: Hello! I know it's been a while, so please forgive me! I've just had some awful writer's block, but it finally passed, and so I'm updating again! Yay! Anyways, I really like this chapter, and I hope you guys do too!**

**Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Pokemon... but alas, I do not *sob*.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =^.^= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Well, here we are!" Ethan exclaimed, pointing. The house ahead was rather small and painted a bright, cheerful yellow. An old man stood near the doorway. As the group approached, he looked up and smiled widely, stretching out the wrinkles in his face.

"Ah, Ethan! It's good to see you again!" He squinted. "And it looks like you've brought friends along as well! It's always nice to have company around here..."

Lyra leaned over to Silver. "That's Ethan's grandpa," she explained quietly. "He helps run the Day-Care center here with his wi-"

"Listen," Silver interrupted, "I don't need a running commentary from you," he whispered harshly. Lyra feel silent, stung. Silver noticed this and looked away, ashamed and angry at himself for taking his annoyances at that jerk Ethan out on her.

"Hey," he mumbled, "Look Lyra, I... I'm sorry..."

Lyra glanced over at Silver and felt her face flush slightly. "_What a weird guy. He's always so moody... it's like... like he's PMSing or something..."_

Ethan, who had remained oblivious to the entire exchange, slung his arm around Lyra's shoulders.

"Well, c'mon in," he said, and the two entered the house, Silver trailing behind.

The inside of the Day-Care was a faint pink, with pictures of different pokemon covering the walls. Bright potted plants stood in the corners giving the house a very cheerful look. The adorableness of the place made Silver feel slightly nauseous. Lyra, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly delighted with her surroundings.

"Wow Ethan, this place hasn't changed a bit!" she chirped excitedly.

Ethan grinned back (Silver noticed that his arm was still around Lyra, and he felt anger rise up in the pit of his stomach) and led Lyra over to a counter in the back, where an old woman stood, looking as happy to see the group as her husband had.

"How nice of you to stop by Ethan," she said, smiling warmly. "And I see you've brought your girlfriend! How sweet!"

Both Ethan and Lyra sweatdropped, while Silver looked murderous. Ethan quickly took his arm off Lyra.

"N-no Meemaw," Ethan stuttered nervously, his face red. "We...we're not d-dating or anything... she's just a... a friend that's a g-girl, that's all!"

"Yeah," Lyra continued, blushing slightly. "We're just childhood friends. Don't you remember me? I'm Lyra!"

The old woman peered intensely at Lyra. "Oh yes, I remember now. You two would always run around and make a huge mess," she said fondly. "Still," she added, with a wink to Ethan, "You two would make a cute couple!"

"S-stop it!" Ethan exclaimed, his face flaming up again. "Listen, can we take the room upstairs tonight? These guys need somewhere to stay."

"Oh, of course dear," was the reply. "Don't stay up too late though, and don't get up to anything crazy!" she said with another wink, causing the whole group to blush.

"We...we won't ma'am," Lyra said. "Well, c'mon Silver!" she said, adressing him. Silver looked up, surprised.

"Oh... yeah... coming," he mumbled, acting completely out of character. Lyra noticed, and began worrying immediately. As Ethan chattered on happily, she fell back and walked with Silver instead. Silver noticed her beside him and felt his heart beat faster.

"_Dammit,"_ he thought, "_Why do I keep feeling so weird?" _All sorts of emotions were running through him: anger, jealousy, and another strange one that he couldn't name. He was frustrated and confused, and though he wanted to say something to Lyra, his mind was blank, so he settled for an awkward silence instead.

Lyra was also confused. Silver was always so difficult of figure out. "_He can be a real jerk, but he can also be really sweet,"_ she thought. "_And why do I feel so... strangely about him?"_ she wondered. _"It's almost as if... no, it couldn't be," _she thought dismissively. The two continued thinking in silence until they reached the room.

The first thing they all noticed was that there was only one futon on the ground... and it only looked like it could fit two people.

"Well, it looks like Lyra and I will take the futon, and Silver... you can find somewhere else to sleep," Ethan said, smirking at Silver, who was immediately outraged.

"Hell no!" he shouted. "There's no way Lyra's sleeping with a creep like you!"

Ethan glared at him. "Why not? It's not like we haven't slept together before!"

Before Silver could fully register what he had just said, Lyra jumped in.

"It was just when we were kids!" she cried indigenously. "It's not what you're thinking, I swear!"

Neither of the boys seemed to pay any attention to her, however. Silver continued glaring at Ethan, who returned the look.

"L-listen," Lyra continued, stepping between the boys, "Can we please save this for later? I really don't want to listen to you guys arguing all night!"

Neither boy stepped down, but they dropped their stares. Lyra sighed; it was probably the best she could hope for.

"Well! Now that that's over with, I'm going to go wash up," she said, and walked out the door, glad to leave the awkward tension behind.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =^.^= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"So..."

"I'm going to stop you right there," Silver said roughly. "I really have no interest in talking to you."

Ethan glared at Silver, affronted. "I was just trying to start a conversation, you jerk!"

"Sticks and stones," Silver sighed. "God you're annoying. I don't know why I'm even sticking around..."

"Really? I thought it was because of Lyra?" Ethan said with a sly grin.

"W-WHAT?" Silver spluttered. "No... no it's... it's because..."

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious that you have a crush on her..."

Silver stood up, his face turning a bright red. "I do not! There's no way I would ever have feelings for that mushroom-headed loser!" He turned abruptly and began to storm out of the room. He had reached the door when he suddenly collided with Lyra, who was just walking in.

"Ow..." she moaned quietly, rubbing her head. She looked up and saw Silver. "Oh! Umm.. where are you going Silver?" she asked.

"Nowhere... I mean... umm..." Silver stammered, not able to look her in the eye. "Umm... bathroom!" He quickly brushed past her into the hall, leaving a confused Lyra standing in the doorway.

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"Dammit!"

Silver chuckled. "Lyra, you really are bad at this game..."

The three were playing Bluff, and Lyra was losing badly. She didn't really mind though, because at least Silver and Ethan were getting along, even if they weren't really on speaking terms. She was enjoying herself, and Silver had finally calmed down to the point where he could tolerate Ethan, and have a little fun himself.

"Then again, Lyra's always been a really bad lier," Ethan said.

Lyra stuck her tongue out at him. "It's not like that's a really bad thing... right?"

"Eh, sometimes you have to lie and cheat to survive," Silver said. "It can be a pretty useful skill..."

"Yeah, I'm sure you know all about that," Lyra teased. "Tell me, how did you come across your Totodile again?"

Silver grinned. "Some things are better left unsaid. Besides, how do I know you won't turn me in?"

Lyra gasped dramatically. "I simply cannot believer that... that you don't trust me!" she recited theatrically, an overdramatic look of hurt on her face.

Silver laughed, and Ethan sat silently, confused.

"Well, I'm really tired," Lyra said, standing up and stretching. "How about we all get some sleep?" She was already dressed in her pajamas: a light pink tank top with frills on the sleeves and matching pants. Her hair fell in soft waves down her back, reaching past her shoulder-blades.

"Sounds like a plan," Ethan agreed, standing as well. "But... we still haven't decided where everyone is going to sleep..."

Lyra smiled. "Oh, I think I have an idea..."

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"Silver, stop kicking me!"

"Oh shut up Ethan..."

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =^.^= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**Well there you have it! i'm actually really pleased with this chapter, so I hope that you liked it too! Also, for those that don't know, Bluff, also known as BS, is a card game where you try to get rid of all your cards, and you usually have to lie for that to happen. If you don't know the game, go look it up. And, as always, please review!**

**Oh, i'd like to thank everyone that has reviewed so far... usually it's the same people, but thank you for your continued support! I'd also like to thank my anonymous reviewer, even though you are nameless, you still mean a lot to me! :D**


	8. Goldenrod City

**Misha: Hello everyone! Wow, it's been a longgggg time, hasn't it? Yeah, I'm really sorry about that! ^.^;**

**Silver: ...**

**Misha: Ah, hey guys...**

**Lyra: Misha. We know you're a slacker, but seriously? 6 months?**

**Misha: I'm really sorry! I'm... I'm reallyreallyREALLY sorry!**

**Silver: ...Ethan, did you bring the crowbar?**

**Ethan: Got it!**

**Misha: Wait... what? Hey... guys... what are you doing...wahhh! G-get backk!**

**...**

**Lyra: We're having some... technical difficulties. ^_^ Misha doesn't own Pokemon!**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =^.^= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Eh? He already left?"

"Yeah, early this morning... I tried to wake you up, but..." Ethan grinned sheepishly and pulled off his hat to show Lyra a lump on his head, "You hit me."

"Oh! Ethan, I'm so sorry!" Lyra exclaimed. "I didn't mean to hit you..."

Ethan rolled his eyes and rested his hand on Lyra's head. "Don't worry about it," he said, smiling and ruffling her hair.

Lyra blushed, staring at her feet. "I just can't believe that he left without us... I thought... well... that we were starting to get along..." she trailed off, noticing that Ethan was giving her a funny look. "Umm... s-so... what dya wanna do today?" she asked absently.

"Well, I could show you around the city... there's shops and you can check out the Gym if you want..."

Lyra grinned. "Sounds like fun! Just let me get ready, alright?" She stood and started rooting through her bag for some clothes. Ethan got up as well and began walking to the door.

"Well, I should probably leave you alone," he said with a wink. "Just come downstairs when you're done."

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><strong>**

Lyra ran happily down the stairs, gripping her bag in one hand and holding her hat to her head with the other. She reached the landing and glanced around, searching for Ethan.

"Um, hello?" she called into the empty house, confused. "Ethan? A-are you still home?"

"Lyra! I'm out here!"

Lyra turned toward the faint voice and saw Ethan smiling at her through the window, waving at her frantically. She stepped out of the house into the bright sunlight, joining Ethan and his grandparents, who were huddled around a small green pokemon. Lyra gasped. It was a Chickorita, and (she guessed) it looked like the one from Professor Elm's lab.

Ethan stared longingly at the little pokemon, hearts in his eyes. "Look Lyra," he gushed, "He's sooooo cute!"

His grandmother laughed. "He's yours Ethan. The Professor called this morning and asked if we could take care of him for a while, but I think he'd be much happier traveling with you. What do you think?"

"Really Meemaw? You're serious?" Ethan exclaimed, beaming. He picked up the Chickorita and swung it around, hugging it tightly. "I'm going to name him... Kusa!" **(A/N:****Kusa=****grass****in****japanese****:3****)**He finally stopped spinning and turned to face Lyra, a huge idiotic smile on his face. Lyra sweatdropped but offered a small grin in return.

"_Heh...__he__'__s__such__a__weirdo_," she thought, gazing at him fondly. Seeing him this energetic reminded her of all the fun they had had growing up. She had lived in a small town all her life after all, and the two had been best friends for as long as she could remember. And then Silver had entered the picture...the total opposite of Ethan, who was always bright and optimistic; Silver was sullen and moody and made her feel really...confused. Lyra stood, lost in her thoughts, until Ethan brought her back to the real world with a start.

"Lyra? Hey... earth to Lyra!" he said, waving his hand in front of her face. Lyra jolted out of her daze and blushed fiercely. Ethan laughed. "You're still just as spacy as ever, huh?" he joked with a fond smile.

"Nn? Oh, yeah... ehehee," Lyra grinned sheepishly and sweatdropped. "A-anyways," she said hastily, trying to change the subject, "That Chickorita... he's yours now, huh?"

Ethan nodded. "His name is Kusa," he announced proudly. "I'm sure that him and Tama will get along great!" He smiled at his two pokemon, who looked up at him happily. Lyra couldn't help but smile as well; Ethan's enthusiasm was contagious.

"Well," Ethan continued, "If we wanna beat the crowds in the city, we should probably get going, alright?"

"Yeah!" Lyra nodded, and released her pokemon. "You guys wanna explore with me too?" Her pokemon chirruped happily in agreement and ran to meet the newest addition to Ethan's team, who blushed from all the attention.

"Hold on just a second dear," Ethan's grandma interrupted, addressing Lyra. "Do you and your friend have a place to stay while you're staying in the city?"

Lyra sweatdropped; she actually hadn't planned that far ahead. "W-well... not exactly, I don't know about Silver though... I'm sure he'll be fine..."

"Then you're welcome to stay here for however long you need to," the elderly woman replied, her broad smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. "And invite your friend too, if you'd like."

"Oh, well thank you!" Lyra gushed. "Y-you really don't have to do that, I don't want to be a bother..."

"Nonsense dear! I'm sure Ethan would love to have you around longer," she added with a wink that turned Ethan's face a bright red, while Lyra remained oblivious. "You kids stay out of trouble now!"

"Y-yeah... w-we will!" Ethan stammered, watching his grandparents walk back into the Center. He stood still for a moment, his eyes unfocused, but snapped back quickly. "Well, let's get going!" he said brightly, taking off quickly down the road. Lyra paused, but soon started after him, their pokemon following.

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><strong>**

"WOW!"

In the mid-morning light, Goldenrod City sparkled, glimmering with the light reflected from the thousands of windows covering the buildings. Lyra had never been to a such a big city before, preferring when she was young to just explore the small towns around her home with Ethan, occasionally venturing out to stay with him at the Day-Care Center. She peered up at the skyscrapers, astonished that a building that tall could still stay standing, craning her neck to try and see the top. Beside her, Ethan was giggling at her astonishment, but she was too excited to be annoyed with him.

"So, where do you want to go first?" he asked. "There's the Department Store, the Game Corner, the Gym... and lots of other shops... the Radio Tower...umm... hold on..." Ethan furrowed his brows concentrating. "And...ummm... I think there's a Bike Shop somewhere..."

"Ethan, you told me you knew the city like the back of your hand," Lyra said skeptically. "I don't wanna get lost in such a big place..."

Ethan frowned. "Are you questioning my sense of judgement? I'm a man! I have a perfect sense of direction! Just name the place, and I'll have you there before you can blink," he boasted.

"Nn, well I want to go the the Department Store! And then the Gym... and then... umm..."

"Then let's go!" Ethan exclaimed, grabbing Lyra's hand and taking off.

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"...Face it Ethan, we're lost."

"N-no we're not! I'm... just taking the long way... you know, so you can get a better feel of the city..." he trailed off sheepishly. Lyra only glowered at him. He sweatdropped and bit his lip. "Ok, so maybe I got a little turned around..."

Lyra sighed. "What happened to your 'super-awesome man senses'?" she asked sarcastically. "Luckily for you, I grabbed a map while you weren't looking." She pulled it out of her bag and unfolded it. "Well, according to this, the Department Store is..." she looked up. "Right there," she said, pointing to the building directly in front of them.

"Ha! See, I told you I knew were I was going!" Ethan gloated.

"It was a lucky guess," Lyra countered stubbornly. "You didn't even notice that it was right in front of us!" She put on a show of storming off, crossing her arms and thrusting her bottom lip out. Ethan, not fooled, just chuckled and followed.

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Ethan groaned. "Why do I have to be your lackey again?" he grumbled, his arms laden with shopping bags.

"Because I'm a girl, and you're supposed to be chivalrous," Lyra replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "Besides," she teased, "You need the workout. I can still beat you in arm wrestling, remember?"

"I try to forget," Ethan mumbled. "In any case, the Gym's right ahead," he said, pointing. "I'm gonna sit... I don't think I can go on much longer." He collapsed on a bench with a melodramatic sigh, letting the bags fall. Lyra rolled her eyes.

"I won't be gone for long... I just want to see what kind of trainer Whitney is. Have fun moping around!"

"I will..." Ethan replied faintly, his head lolling onto his shoulder, his Marill in his lap.

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><strong>**

Lyra hummed to herself as she wandered over the the Gym, a skip in her step. Even though the crowds and the whole... well... _bigness_ of the city was still daunting, she couldn't help but feel carefree and excited. Her revelry was interrupted, however, when she bumped into someone standing near the Gym, falling backwards onto the pavement. She winced and glanced up at the figure standing in front of her.

"Are you stalking me now or something?" the mystery person asked, and Lyra realized with a start that it was none other then Silver who was scowling down at her. She blushed and stared down into her lap.

"N-no..." she mumbled. "I was just coming to see the Gym... and I wasn't paying attention..."

Silver sighed. "I suppose it makes sense that you would wind up around here," he said, mostly to himself. His expression changed to a haughty smirk. "Though I highly doubt that you have the strength to take on Whitney, Mushroom-head."

Lyra glared at him. "It's LYRA, and how would you know? I beat you in Azalea Town, remember?"

"Dumb luck," Silver replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "And I've been spending the whole day training my pokemon... if I had to guess I'd say you've been slacking off, shopping or whatever it is you dumb girls do... though if that's the case, may I suggest you pick up a new outfit?" he concluded with a sneer.

"That's none of your business!" Lyra fired back angrily. "And what does it matter to you how I dress?"

"I was just giving you some advice... nobody will ever think you're cute when you dress like a boy," Silver replied with artificial innocence. He then held out his hand, surprising Lyra, who gave him a puzzled look. "You don't intend on sitting on your ass all day, do you?" Lyra blushed and allowed him to help her up. As he did, their eyes met, and Lyra thought she saw something almost...kind in them before she averted her gaze, her blush deepening.

Silver too felt uncomfortable with the exchange, and turned away quickly, faking a cough so Lyra wouldn't see the faint blush in his cheeks. The two stood awkwardly together, staring at their feet, until Lyra's Cyndaquill broke the silence with a small cry.

"Huh? Oh, what's wrong Maya?" Lyra asked, crouching down so she was almost eye-level with the small creature. Kiri and Moko also seemed frightened, and Lyra searched for the source of their fear until her eyes landed on a large blue pokemon standing a few feet behind Silver. It vaguely resembled Silver's Totodile, but it was bigger and had a white pattern on it's stomach. "Silver, did your Totodile evolve?"

"Nn...yeah, this morning." Silver replied cooly, though Lyra could tell he was repressing the urge to gloat. "I figure my team's almost ready to take on the Gym now, as opposed to yours," he added, glancing haughtily at Lyra's little group of pokemon. "In any case, I'm sure we could take you down now."

Lyra felt anger in the pit of her stomach; she could tolerate Silver making fun of her, but she hated the way he always insulted her pokemon. "Oh," she replied, "It's on. Just don't cry to me when you lose."

Silver smirked. "I don't think that'll be necessary."

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**Misha: Woo! This chapter was super-long (by my standards anyways) but i guess that's kind of an apology for not updating in so long... anyways, the battle will continue in the next chapter, but it will be my first battle scene, so please bear with me! ^.^; As always, i would like to thank every single person that has reviewed so far, and I hope that i keep getting so much nice feedback in the future!**

**Please Review! XD**

***Well, I've actually re-submitted this chapter, cuz the breaks were really wonky and were bugging me...so sorry if I've caused any confusion...**

***Also! I dunno if anyone noticed, but my avatar at the moment is directly related to the story... I hope to be able to do this for every chapter... maybe I'll put it on a DeviantArt or something... hmmm...  
><strong>


	9. The Battle

**Misha: I'M ALIVE! Uhmmm….so I'm really sorry for not updating in so long…I know that I really don't have any excuse…**

**Lyra: I thought I was dead!**

**Silver: I always knew you were a slacker…but I never expected you to be so…well…**

**Misha: What? I dare you to finish that sentence! I control your life you know!**

**Silver: …**

**Misha: So I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It took me a while to write, and I've never written a battle scene…so I don't know if it's any good…well…please let me know!**

**Ethan: Misha is horribly lazy, and she doesn't own Pokemon!**

"Moko! Finish it off with thundershock!"

Lyra's Mareep quickly responded by sending a bolt of lightning into the air, hitting Silver's already weakened Zubat dead on. The bat pokemon hovered in midair for a moment, then crashed down to earth, unable to continue battling.

Silver scowled and recalled the pokemon, assessing the situation in his head. His Gastly had taken down Lyra's Pidgey with only mild difficulty, but it had been defeated by her Mareep. He knew then that he was at a disadvantage; both his Zubat and Croconaw were susceptible to the sheep's electric-type moves. Therefore he decided to cut his losses and sent out Zubat, hoping that he would be able to weaken Mareep enough where it wouldn't do too much damage. Now he was left with only one pokemon, but hopefully Croconaw would take down its first opponent, leaving Lyra with nothing but a fire-type. Silver grinned, and called out his pokemon.

"Croconaw! Do it!"

Lyra sighed with frustration. She had wasted an entire day shopping with Ethan, while Silver had trained his pokemon…something she ought to have been doing herself. Though she knew she currently had the upper hand, there was no way Moko could totally defeat the crocodile pokemon. And Maya would have a very hard time against that water-type…she could only hope that Moko would be able to weaken Silver's pokemon enough…

"Use thundershock again, Moko!" Lyra commanded.

Unfortunately, Croconaw was able to shake off the attack with barely a wince. Silver was barely able to hide a wide grin, settling for a smirk instead.

"Croconaw. Bite."

Silver's pokemon obeyed, baring its fangs. It moved surprisingly quickly for its size, and though Moko tried to dodge the attack, it hit, the water pokemon's teeth in a vice grip around its hind leg. Eventually the grip lessened and Moko's leg was freed, but the pokemon had a noticeable limp as it staggered away. Lyra winced; she sensed that her pokemon was in pain, but also knew that if she called him back now, Silver would win the battle.

"Moko, use tackle, then thundershock!" she cried, hoping that her last-ditch attempt would work. Moko charged as best it could towards Croconaw, which easily dodged the attack. The Mareep began readying its electric attack, but Silver decided to end the pokemon then and there.

"Use water gun!"

Croconaw unleashed a jet of water from its mouth, sending it directly towards the sheep pokemon. As the water reached the little pokemon, however, it released its thundershock attack, just as Lyra had hoped. The water conducted the electricity perfectly, and it raced towards the crocodile pokemon, hitting it dead-on.

Lyra couldn't help but grin as she saw her plan working, but her smile quickly faded as she noticed Moko lying motionless on the ground; water gun had finally knocked him out. Lyra looked over at Silver, hoping that her attack had knocked out his pokemon as well, but sadly saw Croconaw slowly getting back up. She withdrew Moko, whispering a quick "thank you" to the pokeball before releasing her last pokemon.

Observing the scene in front of him, Silver anticipated a rather easy win. Lyra's Cyndaquil was dwarfed by his Croconaw, and would be easily taken down by its water-type moves. He allowed himself to smile this time, excited by the prospect of finally beating his rival.

"Are you scared yet, Mushroom-head?" Silver teased.

"…Will you PLEASE stop calling me that?!" Lyra yelled. "And you haven't won yet, so stop being so damn cocky!"

Silver was rather taken aback by Lyra's outburst, but retained his composure. "I'm not being cocky," he grumbled. "I just know that there's no way for you to beat me!"

Lyra frowned. "Prove it."

"Croconaw, use water gun!"

Silver's pokemon unleashed another torrent of water towards Maya. The little pokemon barely managed to avoid it, only being grazed by the stream. Croconaw continued sending a steady stream of attacks towards Maya, who continued dodging. Eventually, however, she grew tired, moving slower and getting hit more often.

"Use quick attack, Maya!"

Faster than Silver expected, the fire pokemon dashed towards Croconaw, hitting it squarely in the chest. The move managed to make the crocodile stagger back, but it didn't fall, and Maya had little energy left for another attack. She barely stood, legs trembling and panting heavily. Lyra rushed over to her pokemon, despite the surprised look she got from Silver, and knelt down next to it, stroking the top of its head gently.

"Maya…" she murmured gently. "I'm so sorry…" Lyra stood back up, facing Silver.

"I…I really hate to say this but…I just can't put Maya through this anymore." Silver smirked.

"So you give up?"

"Well…I…" Lyra squeezed her eyes shut, stopping the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

Maya looked up at her owner, understanding the concern that she felt for her. She wished that she could help the girl that cared so deeply for her; she had never been happy living in the cold, sterile laboratory, and her journey with Lyra had brought along the best times she had ever had. Suddenly, the little pokemon realized what she could do to help her human, and began concentrating, focusing all her remaining energy on this last attempt.

Lyra sighed sadly. She had never expected that she would actually lose to Silver, and hated to think about how he would treat her now that he had won. He had always acted arrogant, but now…well, she anticipated it being ten times worse, always having to endure jokes at her expense, being constantly reminded of her weakness…she fought back the tears that were coming and looked down at Maya, only to be shocked by what she saw.

Maya was encased in a bright yellow light, her entire body hidden from view. Silver had also noticed the change, but instead of wonder, there was anger and frustration on his face. He knew what was happening, and knew that if Lyra's Cyndaquil evolved his chance of defeating her was shot. As he watched, the shape of the pokemon encased in light began to grow and change, and he muttered a few choice curses under his breath.

Lyra, on the other hand, was delighted. She knew that if Maya evolved then she had another chance of beating Silver. The light around her pokemon faded, and Lyra gasped happily at Maya's new form. Her Cyndaquil was now a Quilava, her body lither and longer than before, with two flames; at her head and back. Maya walked over to her owner, nuzzling her before turning back to her opponent, her flames burning brighter with fighting spirit.

"Maya, use ember!"

Maya charged, unleashing flames towards the crocodile pokemon. They weren't enough to take the pokemon down, but in its already weakened state, the attack did more damage than usual.

"Use water gun again!"

"Quick attack!"

Lyra crossed her fingers, but just as she had hoped, Maya's attack hit before Croconaw's, sending Silver's pokemon flying back. It struggled for a moment to get back up, but then collapsed, finished.

Silver just gaped, dumbfounded. He had been so close to winning, and his chances had again been shot. He withdrew Croconaw, scowling.

"It was dumb luck! That's the only reason you won!"

Lyra, however, wasn't listening. She had her arms wrapped tightly around Maya, her face buried in her pokemon's soft fur.

"Are you listening to me?!" Silver yelled angrily. Lyra looked up. "You stupid girl, you only won because you got lucky and because my pokemon are weak!"

Lyra stood, trembling with anger. "Will you STOP belittling me? I beat you! You've never once won, and all you do is blame your pokemon!"

"It's not my fault that they're too weak to take on your silly pokemon," Silver retorted. "I'm the better trainer, I just got stuck with pathetic, wimpy pokemon!"

"It's not their fault!" Lyra shouted. "Maybe if you actually gave a damn about them, they would listen to you and care about you! The only reason I won today was because of Maya, and that was because she knows that I love her!"

"Love has nothing to do with it," Silver scoffed. "It's all about power. You could love the weakest pokemon in the world and it would still suck. All I have to do is train these wimps some more, and then I'll be able to take you on! You think you're so great, but you're just a stupid, silly girl!"

Silver finished his short rant, fuming, and glanced over at Lyra. He expected to see her ready to retort, but was instead surprised to see the girl staring at the ground, tears streaming down her face. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she seemed to be shaking. She looked up at him, the tears in her eyes unable to hide the anger in them.

"I hate you…" she mumbled. "You pretend to care about me for a second, then insult me the next! Why can't you make up your mind?! Do you enjoy making me suffer like this?" She sank to her knees, hugging Maya, who shot Silver a murderous look. Silver suddenly because fascinated with his shoes, staring down at them and scuffing his toe in the dirt, ashamed. He had never meant to make the girl cry, and all he wanted to do was go to her and console her somehow…but he had never done anything like that before, and was unsure of what to do.

"Well now, I think that that's quite enough," came a voice from behind Silver. He turned around quickly, startled. Lyra managed to glance up as well, wiping tears from her eyes. The speaker was a cute, short, pink-haired girl in what looked like a gym uniform. Her hair was pulled into pigtails and her face, which looked kind, wore a large scowl.

"Excuse me?" Silver shot back. "And who exactly are you?"

The girl glared at him. "I'm Whitney, the Gym leader in Goldenrod city, and you too have made quite the ruckus in front of my Gym."

Lyra stood up hastily, brushing herself off. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "I didn't-"

"Don't worry about it sweetie," Whitney said, smiling at Lyra. She turned back to Silver. "But _you_," she said, frowning at him, "You're the one that I have a problem with."

Silver was taken back. "Why me?"

"You made that poor girl cry! You're horrible!" Whitney exclaimed.

"But she…I…it's not my fault!" Silver stammered. "I didn't…" he trailed off. "I wasn't trying to make her cry…"

Lyra looked over at Silver. "Then why did you say those things?"

Silver looked down, his cheeks slightly red. "I…I don't know. I get angry and…I say things before thinking about them…"

Lyra folded her arms across her chest. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I..I'm sorry."

Whitney grinned. "See, you're not as horrible as I thought! Now kiss and make up!"

Both Lyra and Silver's cheeks flared red at the statement. "We...we're n-not like that…" she stuttered.

"Y-yeah," Silver muttered, staring at his shoes.

Whitney frowned. "But you guys act like a bickering couple…" her eyes gleamed. "At least hug it out!"

Lyra didn't think that her face could get any redder, but it did at Whitney's suggestion.

"I…I don't think…"

Whitney just laughed and nudged Lyra over towards Silver. The two stood awkwardly for a moment, then Silver tentatively reached out and pulled Lyra into a hug.

Silver felt awkward enough, but he had to admit that he didn't mind holding Lyra. His face was bright red by now, and got even redder as Lyra's arms wrapped her arms around Silver's waist, burying her head in his chest. The hug lasted longer than either Lyra or Silver had expected, but neither wanted to let go. Finally, Whitney interrupted their embrace with a loud cough. The two sprang apart, blushing and staring at the ground.

"Well then! You two look like you need to visit the Pokemon Center, am I right?"

"Y-yeah!" Lyra exclaimed. "I'm not really sure where it is though…I should probably go and ask Ethan…"

"So you're still hanging around him then?" Silver asked, fighting a slight feeling of jealousy.

"Yeah, he was shopping with me today," Lyra explained. "He's probably wondering where I am by now…"

"Well then," Silver said, "Let's get going!" He quickly started walking away, hoping to get away from Lyra in order to clear his head.

"Ah! Silver!" Lyra called, running after him. "Wait up!"

**Misha: So I hoped that you all liked this chapter! I tried to make it pretty long to make up for not updating in so long…I'm going to try and update more often, now that I've got my own laptop this should be a lot easier! Also, thanks for all the people that have reviewed! I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to do so, I love you all!**

**Please review!**


	10. UPDATE!

**Wow okay hello friends! It's uh…it's been a long time, I know. Anyways, to those that are actually reading this, thanks for sticking around with me! So, please know that I fully intend on continuing this story. However, since first posting this, and my other fic, Pokemon Ranger Guardian Signs, I feel I have improved a lot as a writer, and so I'm going to be starting over with this and Guardian Signs. I'm not deleting this fic, but if you want to read the "new and improved" version, keep an eye out! There's not going to be a lot different, but the chapters will be longer and more detailed and just better, I think. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 1(new version)

**Hello! For those reading, this is a newer version of a story already in existence, called 'Heart of Gold'. I never got around to finishing that, which was a shame, because I was dissatisfied with the writing and how it was turning out. So, this is the…revamped version, I suppose. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, obviously**

**=^.^=**

The doors of the Elm Pokemon Laboratory burst open, and a young girl darted out, accompanied by the shouts of irritated scientists. But she paid them no mind, so wrapped up in her own excitement. The cause of her happiness squirmed a little in her arms; a tiny Pokemon colored navy blue and cream, sporting orange spots on his back. He opened his mouth to let out a cry of protest as the girl squeezed him, and she looked down, loosening her hold but still smiling brightly.

"I think we're gonna make a great team," she proclaimed, speaking both to the Cyndaquil and to herself, as if she needed the reassurance. She took a seat in the grass outside the laboratory, and finally let go of her new companion, who hopped down and immediately began sniffing the grass around them.

"I'm Lyra," she continued. "And you…" she frowned suddenly. "You know, I never really thought about a name…"

Cyndaquil wasn't paying attention, still rooting around in the grass around Lyra's feet. That is, until he came across an unsavory plant, and sneezed violently, a cloud of smoke erupting from his mouth.

"Smoke! I'll call you Smoke!" His sneeze had inspired the name, and Lyra smiled down at him. Though Cyndaquil's eyes were closed, his expression when he glanced at her was clear distaste.

"No? Er…well then…" Lyra frowned, trying to come up with something that wasn't so cliché. "How about Char? No…that sounds too close to Charmander…" she sighed. "Then, how about…Iorek? It's a big name, but you'll grow into it, I'm sure. And I can call you Io for short, in the meantime!" She grinned down, hoping the name would take.

Io simply shrugged, and continued to nose the grass. Lyra decided to take that as a good sign, and nodded in confirmation. "Iorek, then. I think it suits you!" She reached down and picked Io up, then stood with a quiet grunt.

"Well, c'mon then. We have to run that errand for Elm, remember?" She began walking past the laboratory, towards Cherrygrove, when a redheaded figure caught her eye. He was standing at the window of the lab, partially obscured by the building. It looked as though he was staring into the building...

Her curiosity peaked, Lyra approached him, and as she neared could hear that he was muttering to himself.

"Er, hello!" she called brightly, hoping to catch his attention. She did, and the boy jumped slightly, startled, and then turned to look at her. As soon as he did she wished she had just let him alone; he was glaring at her, red eyes narrowed and mouth set in a firm scowl.

"What are you staring at?" he demanded, voice just as menacing as his expression.

"I…was just wondering if you needed something…" Lyra replied meekly, casting her gaze down. Against her better judgment she stepped forward, raising one arm in defense and trying to appear harmless.

Her action was not well received; the boy reacted by reaching out to give her a hard shove, and Lyra staggered back a few steps, her shoulder throbbing.

"Get out of here, Mushroom-head," he growled, turning back towards the window.

"Excuse me?!" Her temper rose quickly, and rather than backing off, she confronted him. "What did I do to you? It's rude to hit a girl, you know?"

"You're a girl? Huh. Hard to tell, dressed like that. I didn't know girls still wore overalls," the boy drawled, still not looking at her. "Now, why don't you be a good girl, and get out of here."

Lyra could only splutter indignantly in response. She tried and failed to come up with a good retort, so she turned on her heel, marching off with Io clutched tightly against her.

"What a jerk," she muttered, and Io growled in agreement. "I hope I never see him again," she continued, heading onwards to Cherrygrove, as she should have done before.

**=^.^=**

"…so please, get back as soon as you can!"

-CLICK-

Lyra placed her Pokegear back in her bag as she ran back to the lab. She had just finished Elm's errand when he called her, demanding that she return. There had been…well, some sort of disaster, Lyra wasn't sure. He hadn't been very specific in his call.

She raced through Cherrygrove City, ignoring to quizzical looks of passerby, and was almost at the exit of the city when she stopped in her tracks. There, blocking her path, was the same boy from earlier, standing with arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" she asked with a scowl. Io was next to her on the ground, and sat up on his haunches, trying to appear more intimidating.

He just sneered at the pair, though his attention seemed more drawn to Io than to her. "I see you got a Pokemon from the lab as well. What a waste…that Pokemon seems too good for a wimp like you." He crouched down, inspecting the Cyndaquil. "Then again," he continued, "This one looks rather pathetic, so you must be a perfect match!" Lyra scowled, and was about to retort, when the redhead laughed, straightening and reaching for something attached to his belt.

"I've just gotten a Pokemon too, you see. Let me show you…" He threw the Pokeball into the air. "Go, Totodile!"

**=^.^=**

Lyra had expected her first Pokemon battle to be much more intense. But both Pokemon were at such low levels that the fighting merely consisted of using 'Tackle!' and 'Scratch!' over and over, until Totodile had finally fainted. In all honestly, Lyra suspected she had only won because Io was faster and had gone first. But that was irrelevant now, as she cheered happily, bending down to pick Io up and swing him around.

"We did it!" she cheered, and Iorek chimed in happily.

"….whatever," a voice muttered, and Lyra looked up. "So you won. Whatever," the boy continued, staring at his feet. "It…it doesn't matter!" he yelled suddenly, causing Lyra to jump. "That was just beginner's luck! I'm going to be the world's best Pokemon trainer, you'll see!" He called back his fainted Pokemon and stormed off, still muttering to himself.

Lyra stared at his retreating back, then noticed something laying on the road where he had been standing moments ago. She walked over and picked it up, curious. It was a trainer card, with the familiar scowling face staring up at her.

"Silver," she murmured, reading the name at the top. "Hey, wait!" she called, but the boy had disappeared. She sighed, glancing down at Io. "Silver, huh? I wonder if we'll ever see him again…"

**=^.^=**

**And that's the first chapter! Thanks for reading, and I really hoped you enjoyed it.**

**Oh, and a note: Iorek's name comes from The Golden Compass, a book that I really love. The main character's name is also Lyra, and that's how I decided on the name!**

**Anyways, the second chapter should be up next week. Any reviews/suggestions are highly appreciated, thank you!**

**For those reading this on the original Heart of Gold story...thing, I won't be posting any new chapters here. Look for Heart and Soul to read future updates!**


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